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Discrimination / Harassment

New medical marijuana law may be strongest in nation

07/15/2014
On May 29, Gov. Mark Dayton signed Minnesota’s new medical mari­­juana bill into law. Unlike similar laws in other states, this law specifically amends a state law—the Minne­­sota Con­­trolled Substance Act—to carve out exemptions for those permitted to use medical marijuana.

Just reporting wrongdoing isn’t enough to trigger protection

07/15/2014
Minnesota law presumes at-will employment—that workers can be fired for any reason or no reason as long as no law makes the firing illegal. However, employees can’t be fired for refusing to engage in illegal activity.

Litany of gripes won’t prove hostile environment

07/15/2014
Hostility isn’t the same as discrimination. Proving it requires an affected employee to show both subjectively and objectively that she endured ridicule or worse—not just that her supervisor was unfair or even discriminated.

Audit discipline cases for hidden racial bias

07/15/2014
Supervisors sometimes enforce rules in a biased way or discipline members of a protected class more severely than others. But HR can stop this discrimination dead in its tracks with an internal informal audit. Regular monitoring (and fixing any problems you find) may be the best lawsuit-prevention tool around.

Hey boss! National origins comments never OK

07/15/2014
Remind supervisors that they must never make jokes (or assumptions) about employees based on where they were born, their origins or other national or ethnic characteristics.

‘Do As I Say’ Department: Disability nonprofit sued for disability bias

07/10/2014
A Detroit nonprofit formed to assist people with disabilities faces EEOC charges that it violated the ADA by discriminating against a deaf worker.

Long Island cop wins $1.35M in reverse discrimination case

07/09/2014
A federal jury has awarded $1.35 million to a police lieutenant in the Long Island town of Freeport after finding that the town’s black mayor turned him down for a promotion to chief of police because he is white. A Hispanic fire department official got the job.

Biased at Tiffany?

07/09/2014
A black man who runs two Tiffany & Co. stores in Texas is suing the luxury retailer in New York, alleging that the company engages in “systemic, nationwide pattern and practice of racial discrimination.”

Most political speech doesn’t create hostile environment

07/09/2014
Politics sometimes come up when co-workers talk. As long as what’s said isn’t overtly offensive, those discussions don’t create a hostile work environment—even if some employees are sensitive about the subject matter.

Have attorneys monitor other lawsuits that may have been filed by class-action members

07/09/2014

You may think that settling a class-action lawsuit puts an end to the matter, stopping further claims by an employee who was a member of the class. If you know an employee has filed another EEOC complaint or lawsuit, be sure to tell your attorney when the class-action suit is being settled. Otherwise, you may soon be back in court.